VietNamNet Bridge - Approximately 100 hectares of preventive forests and 20 hectares of shrimp farms in the town of Sam Son of Thanh Hoa Province, central Vietnam, have disappeared due to sea encroachment.

Sea has "swallowed" hundreds of hectares of forests in Sam Son town.

A 5km coast from Van Chai resort to Lach Hoi in Quang Cu commune, Sam Son town, Thanh Hoa province has been seriously erosed. Local residents said in the past few years, sea water has encroached deeply into the mainland for about 200 meters. The sea intrusion takes place most strongly in the typhoon season (from August to February of the following year). Many families had to remove their houses to avoid risks.

Mr. Le Van Thang’s family in Quang Vinh village, Quang Cu commune, is one of the most affected households. Previously, the family hired five hectares of coastal land to plant protective forests but owing to seawater encroachment, the area has been shrunk to less than two hectares.

"If sea intrusion keeps continuing, perhaps I would lose everything in a few years," said Thang. To keep the land, last year he had to borrow money to build a rock embankment to prevent sea water. However, with the amount of nearly VND100 million ($5,000), he could build only 50m of embankment.

Many tents for tourists were swept away.

Mr. Ngo Huu Ban, Quang Cu commune’s president said that the sea has swallowed more than 100 hectares of the coastal forests, about 20 hectares of shrimp ponds, with estimated losses of up to a hundred of billion dong (millions of US dollars). To temporarily deal with land erosion, the local government has mobilized people to drive bamboo poles into the ground, then place sacks of sand, pour concrete, but the situation has not improved.

Local officials said that to build 5 km of breakwater here, they need at least VND400 billion ($20 million). This amount is huge, beyond the local government’s ability.

Mr. Tran Quang Trung, Deputy Director of Thanh Hoa Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in 2011, the Government approved the Sam Son coast landslide prevention project with a capital of VND420 billion ($21 million) but until now the project has not been implemented because there is no capital.

Minh Hang